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Natural Awakenings South Jersey

Just Breathe Center Offers Space to Exercise the Non-Physical Self

by Ellen Kershner

 

Rita Strough spent much of her life climbing the corporate ladder, but after she turned 40 she realized there had to be something more fulfilling in life. Spending long hours in the office while raising two children and working on her bachelor’s degree at night was taking its toll; she felt rundown and numb. Questioning life itself she wondered why we were given a life only to spend it working endless hours in repetitive patterns, missing all the little pleasures life has to offer. Thoughts began to form: “Is this how humans are supposed to spend their lifetime? Why would God give me life if all I’m supposed to do is work, hoping someday I can stop and then finally start living?” She was burning her candle at both ends and experiencing the symptoms of awakening. 

 

While working for an insurance broker in the mid-2000s, her soul searching led her to a few transformational books that opened up her mind. Like following a trail of breadcrumbs, she started her journey towards a deeper understanding of life. She became a fan of authors Deepak Chopra and Eckhart Tolle, but the book that really turned things around for her was Angelspeake: How to Talk with Your Angelsby Barbara Markand Trudy Griswold.

 

A Turning Point

 

Something miraculous happened after reading Angelspeake. She followed the instructions in the book, and began speaking to angels. In her own words, she was “blown away by the experience.” Hearing words like “love, peace, harmony and tranquility,” Strough was making a connection. Next, a sentence began to flow: “You are going to help others become familiar with angels, and work with them to awaken others.” Through many trials and tests, it was clear; the angels validated everything.  

 

Strough went through emotional and physical changes, and arrived at a real turning point. Deep, channeled esoteric teachings began to flow from the connection with the angelic realm. She came to know that people don’t need any authority outside of themselves to make the connection to the divine. “Every person has their own spark of divinity,” she explains, “and it is there to guide, support and love us in everything we do.” The angels were the tip of the iceberg and they opened up her abilities and now she is channeling messages from many beings, including from the astral planes where those whom we have loved in life can communicate across the veil to those who remain here.  

 

The Journey to Just Breathe

 

A native of Pennsauken, New Jersey, Strough is the youngest of seven and was always curious. As an adult she is still seeking answers, trying to understand her gifts and abilities. She spent her 20s and 30s working in insurance, marketing and management and today runs a successful small cleaning business as well as managing Just Breathe. After her awakening, she and a friend started the radio show Talk-N-Angels, on 1460 AM. This morphed into an internet radio show, and a fan asked her to start classes. The first ones took place at a friend’s house, then quickly grew into a circle of regulars. Strough rented space in Mount Laurel for five years, and over time the classes grew to where it was hard to fit everyone in the room!

 

In 2017 Strough received a flyer advertising space for rent only a few miles from her home in Cinnaminson. At first, she was deterred by the amount asked for the space, but she was guided to take a look. As soon as she and a friend entered the space for the first time, they both felt goosebumps. “It was perfect!” she says. Several ideas for a name were bandied about, but none seemed just right. And then, the thought came in, “People are just going to come in here, sit down and just breathe.” Once again, goosebumps and the knowing that this place would come to be known as Just Breathe. “It is a place for the entire community of people who want and need to connect with others who are also on a spiritual path,” she adds. That’s where the idea of a community center was born.  

 

Classes and More

Just Breathe Spiritual Community Center offers a variety of classes including yoga, tai chi/qigong, musical concerts, sound healing and introductory classes for subjects such as crystals, Wicca, spiritual development, shamanism, tarot and angel card reading, awakening, and more. There’s a private treatment room where clients can meet practitioners for energy healing, massage and other therapies.

 

Strough facilitates a monthly class called Awakening with the Angels where participants are invited to join in the creation of sacred space and exploration of the dimensions and realms where healing and attunement to higher vibrational frequencies are available. Participants explore their own abilities and are encouraged to share them. Awakening promotes wisdom, healing and adjustment of vibrational frequency which leads us out of ego-mind into divine-mind. 

 

Living Joyfully

 

She has seen people come into Just Breathe with anxiety, fears and baggage weighing them down.  “Everybody needs a non-judgmental place where they can go to be themselves and talk with people who care,” she says. “Those who are suffering in a spiritual way feel they can’t talk to anybody. Then they come to a class, and can’t believe how much better they feel!”

 

Friendships and groups form; tears are shed. There are lots of hugs. Her reward is seeing how a place like Just Breathe with a community of eager soul-seekers can transform individuals. She has helped others awaken, come into their own, love and trust themselves and begin to live joyfully.

 

This fall, she is offering The Language of Spirit, a 10-week psychic development class that is good for people that want a deeper dive into their own abilities. Registration is currently underway. At present, Strough is happy just being able to provide a space for the community to grow and expand. She is hoping to bring in more new classes and invite more people to enjoy the journey toward inner peace. She’d like to see it have a ripple effect and watch others create their own centers for more spiritual expansion.  

 

She says, “There’s an awakening wave sweeping through humanity and we need more attuned people to serve those newly awakening with compassion and love.”

 

Just Breathe Spiritual Community Center is located at 2800 Rte. 130 N., Ste. 100, Cinnaminson, NJ. For more information including those interested in renting space or creating classes, call 856-735-5830 or visit JustBreatheCenter.org.

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